Thinkpads Forum

OS is Windows 7 Pro, 64-bit, 500GByte Hitachi HD. The notebook has been running fine. Today, the pointer froze on the screen just before I was going to shut the computer off. Eventually, the only way I was able to shut it down was by holding down the start button.

Several hours later I tried to boot up, not even the logo screen displayed; black only. Unable to get into Safe Mode as well. Additionally, I put the W7 Pro OS DVD into the drive hoping it would boot the computer, but still nothing. Upon inserting the OS DVD, the drive rotates for about 45 seconds and then stops. F2, F8, F10, and Delete keys will not display anything.

Any suggestions?

Do you get a boot screen? If yes, hold down F1 on boot and go into BIOS. Select the HD diagnostic utility and run the diagnostic on the 'main hard disk drive'.

I am having a similar problem.

my T61p was working when I left the office, when I got home to power it up (I docked it to my station) it didn't boot.

The laptop "powers on" the size-way Z symbol lights up, the caps lock & num locks flash, but the HDD light NEVER LIGHTS UP.
I can hear the DVD drive spin up and the HDD spin up (with the 7200rpm but I really can't tell with the 5400rpm).

No beeps, no nothing, nothing on the screen after "powering up".
I've tried reseating the DIMM & CPU. Am I stuck trying to get it repaired? (out-of-warranty)?

Second part of that would be, they gave me an estimate (hold of 575 and actual charge of probably 485), would they charge me more if it ended up costing way more than the estimate(a repair shop quoted me at 850 + labor)?

Your T61p probably has a blown nVidia GPU.
All laptops (not just Lenovo, also HP, dell, Apple/Mac etc.) with nVidia GPUs from the T61 era are prone to fail, due to production errors in that GPU.
A new motherboard is the most likely repair.
If you don't need the graphics horse power, a replacement mobo with integrated Intel graphics runs about $150-170
A T61p mobo (with the error-prone nVidia chip) will cost you ca. $250-300 or your first-born....
Both can be exchanged in DIY. No point wasting money in a repair shop.

Where could I get T61p mobos? I've called IBM and they quoted me $805 for a new mobo, at which price I might as well just buy another laptop.

The boards are hard to find. Is your machine a 14" 4:3 model or a 15.4" wide-screen? What CPU do you have?

CORE 2 (PENRYN) DUAL CORE 800/2500MHZ-6M
and
15.4" I believe (1440x900 right?)

Am I better off trying to pawn off the parts?

P/N 42W7877 (Penryn capable) is available (refurbished) on eBay for $320.- + $20.- shipping.
For non-Penryn CPU, the 42W7653 is also available at the same price.
(seller itthinker)
To verify which motherboard you have/need, remove the keyboard and front palm rest to see the P/N labels.

I see 42W3420 on my board, which I am guess is because it has the NVidia card in it.

putting down $300 to bring this board back to spec might not be worth it :X

If your machine is out of warranty, the only way for you to economically resolve this issue is to actually try and get the "post warranty" warranty (Thinkplus) service on your T61p, and then send the laptop in once the warranty becomes active.
Costs about $200.- but is cheaper than a mobo replacement.
OTOH, get a mobo with integrated Intel graphics, much cheaper around $150.-

See also this: http://forum.notebookreview.com/lenovo- ... els-4.html
and this: http://www.theinquirer.net/inquirer/new ... -defective

I wish I thought of this when thinkpad reminded me that my warranty limit was expiriing in April

for a 15.4" laptop, I think I am going to move to one of the smaller thinkpads since I don't want to lug a large laptop anymore that wont be a entertainment center as well.

I am going to save my hdd and try to sell the rest on the marketplace :\

edit:

so I tried to fix it again today, I ripped the laptop apart completely (intending to see how difficult it would be to replace the board). I saw the bubbles around the graphics card and pressed it down until it was flush with the chip.

voila the computer works! I am guess the chip was loose? this is really odd because I already tried the reflow by cooking it in it's own heat before.

anyhow. my problem is solved (power led on, no beep, try taking it apart and poking the graphics chip).

and we are back to dead laptop. I managed to backup the entire system the night before it ate itself again.

I guess I will try to get one of those intel boards

how do I go about looking for one of the integrated graphics boards that are penryn capable?

found 42W7875 or 42W7651 (the integrated graphics boards for t61/t61p) off the HMM list.
The only real problem now is deciding between fixing it for ~$300. or spending $900+ to get a new machine.